


i close my eyes and all i see is you

by squidgie



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: First Time, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28842951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidgie/pseuds/squidgie
Summary: Dexshouldbe asleep, he's just sure of it.  He did a massive amount of work over the last two days, including not only moving everything he owned fromtheirroom but also worked to cordon off a part of the basement to make it habitable.  And after he'd gotten things unpacked and situated, he'd worked until the wee hours building himself a desk and even managed to put up some drywall to make his bungalow even more secluded, with plans for paint and more in his head.  He should beexhausted.But sleep just won't come because every time he closed his eyes, he saw Nursey, and how angry he had been.  How angry they hadbothbeen.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse & William "Dex" Poindexter, Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Comments: 9
Kudos: 92





	i close my eyes and all i see is you

**Author's Note:**

> For the comment_fic prompt: any, any midnight snack
> 
> Not Betaed!

Dex _should_ be asleep, he's just sure of it. He did a massive amount of work over the last two days, including not only moving everything he owned from _their_ room but also worked to cordon off a part of the basement to make it habitable. And after he'd gotten things unpacked and situated, he'd worked until the wee hours building himself a desk and even managed to put up some drywall to make his bungalow even more secluded, with plans for paint and more in his head. He should be _exhausted_.

But sleep just won't come because every time he closed his eyes, he saw Nursey, and how angry he had been. How angry they had _both_ been.

It wasn't as if he was actually _angry_ , per se. Instead, he was frustrated. The attraction that had taken hold about the same time he and Nursey had become as close as he and Chowder decided to blossom. And Dex, who was barely out of the closet to even himself, was overwhelmed with just about everything in his daily life. Something that showed in nearly every interaction. "Dammit," he muttered, as he tossed and turned on the bare mattress, not able to get comfortable. The environment was new, but all that did was tell Dex that something was missing. He didn't have to think hard as to what it was. Because as much as Nursey was a pain sometimes, he was a constant in Dex's life that helped it make sense. A constant even in the seclusion of their room that Nursey now had to himself.

He turned over and doodled a headboard onto a stray sheet of paper but found his mind wandering. Wandering back to earlier when he'd blown up at Nursey. They both done it; it was just how they were. Dex didn't always get along with people, and it seemed like Nursey, who liked to think that he did, would rub him the wrong way just like he did for Nursey.

Dex wiped at the frustration on his face, pushing the heels of his hands into his eyes as he let out a sigh. He rolled over and sat up, abandoning his drawing, and stretched. And it was then that he heard it.

The Haus was mostly silent, especially now. Too quiet for Dex's liking. But as he leaned into a stretch, his stomach growled, and his mind wandered up to the kitchen. "Wonder if there's pie," he asked and thought back on the day. He honestly couldn't remember eating anything since team breakfast the day before, so he decided to grab a midnight snack.

Just as his foot hit the stairs, there was a muffled grunt that came from the kitchen. The kitchen was far enough away that sounds would mostly be missed from the rest of the bedrooms, but because the stairs to the basement were off the kitchen, the sound traveled. A " _Dammit_!" quickly followed it, then the crashing of glass against linoleum.

It was Nursey's voice. But that didn't stop Dex from quickening his way up the stairs. And as he stepped into the kitchen, he saw Nursey getting to the floor with pieces of glass, sparks glinting off the pieces from the muted light coming into the windows. "Oww," Nursey said, pulling his hand quickly away.

Dex clicked on the overhead light, startling Nursey. He held out a hand as he took in the scene. "Don't move," he said as he realized just how much glass there was, especially the piece that Nursey had briefly leaned back onto with his uninjured hand. "Shit," he said as Nursey put his hand to the floor, looking as if he was trying to brace himself and stand again. "Nursey," he said as he kicked one of the larger shards of glass to the side, "just don't move, okay?"

A voice came from the kitchen entryway that startled them both. "You guys okay?" Hops asked, rubbing his eyes. At both Dex and Nursey's questioning look, he hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "I got sexiled from my dorm room, so I took the couch."

"Yeah, we're fine, Hops," Dex said. He dismissed Hops with a wave. "Go back to sleep." And when Nursey tried to get up again, Dex added, "I said don't move, Nursey."

Nursey looked cowed at the request but nodded his head, so Dex took a couple of big steps around the shards and grabbed the broom and dustpan. He glanced at them, glad to find that whoever cleaned up after the last kegster had washed the vomit out of them, and slowly walked around the kitchen, sweeping up the pieces. "See any more?" he asked.

When he looked up at Nursey, he realized that Nursey was awkwardly holding the hem of his t-shirt over the palm of his hand, blood at the side. "Shit," he said, then dumped the glass into the trash. "Is it bad?"

As he pulled the t-shirt away, Dex sighed with relief that the blood had mostly stopped, though the cut seemed longer than he was comfortable with. He reached down and took Nursey's elbow, helping him off the floor. 

"I can do it, _Poindexter_ ," Nursey said.

"Shuddup," he replied. He pulled Nursey over to the sink, turned on the cold water, and then put his hand underneath it. Nursey's arm felt warm and strong under Dex's fingers, and Dex realized that he'd missed even the smell of Nursey's aftershave. After less than 48 hours.

"Stings," Nursey said, then hissed through his teeth.

"You take pucks to the body all the time, Nurse," Dex said. "I'm sure you can deal with a little bit of water." After a few seconds, he pulled Nursey's hand from the water and dabbed at it with some paper towels. "At least the bleeding's stopped," he said as he examined the cut. "But that's a pretty big cut." He looked Nursey in the face for the first time in what felt like forever and found gray/green eyes staring back at him. "I'm trying to remember - do we have any more butterflies in the house?"

Nursey nodded, then tried to point to the small first-aid kit they kept on the top of the refrigerator. "Yeah, Ransom got some after that last kegster where..."

Dex couldn't help but smile. "Where you took a header off the porch and cut your arm."

Nursey smirked. "Whatever," he said.

After rummaging through the first-aid kit, Dex pulled out some supplies and went to work on Nursey's cut, cleaning it and then closing it with the butterflies. After a couple of pieces of medical tape, he studied it for a minute as Nursey made sure he could still had the dexterity that he needed to write at least and other essential functions.

Dex's stomach growled, and he remembered what he'd initially come to the kitchen for. "I missed dinner," he said. "There anything left?"

"Yeah," Nursey said, flexing his hand. "I made Bitty save you some stuff," and pointed to the refrigerator.

That gave Dex pause; after all, they'd just been through, and Nursey was still looking out for him?

After he pulled out a plate of food, Dex took a few bites. He didn't care that it was cold; he was suddenly starving. As he chewed, he realized that Nursey was still watching him. "Hey, what were you trying to do, anyway?" he asked. "What do you need?"

With a nod to the cabinet, Nursey said, "I was trying to get a bowl to put some snacks in and take it back to our-" He looked at Dex, "Back to the room. But Tango put the dishes away wrong, and the plastic bowls were behind Bitty's mixing bowls, so I tried to move it, but..."

"Oh shit, Nurse. Did you break Bitty's favorite mixing bowl?"

"Shh! Chill!" Nursey looked around, his eyes shifty. "Not so fucking _loud_ , Poindexter!" They shared a look, and Dex could see the blush that crept up Nursey's neck. "Besides, that one's not his favorite." He reached down and pointed to a few ceramic bowls, " _Those_ are his favorite."

"Yeah, I'd suggest not going anywhere near those," Dex said.

The look Nursey gave Dex said 'Duh!' louder than any voice was capable.

Dex sighed as he took another bite. "You want some of this?" he asked, then waved the plate at Nursey. Though he'd made a dent in it, there was still too much food. When Nursey shook his head, Dex broke off part of the cheesy quiche that Bitty had made and held it in front of Nursey. He didn't give up until Nursey finally leaned forward and took the food from Dex's fingers. He was happy Nursey hadn't actually _licked_ his fingers because that would have been too much. Frustrating Nurse he could deal with. But Sexy Nurse was a whole other matter.

After clearing his throat, desperate to _not_ look Nursey in the face, Dex nodded. "Have some more. At least help me finish this," he said, then gestured at the table. They both sat, Dex eating his food as Nursey picked at it. They both seemed content to enjoy the silence, neither seemingly wanting to be the first at offering an apology.

With the plate picked clean, Dex got up and washed it quickly, and put it on the rack to dry. "You want anything else before I..." and nodded toward the basement.

Nursey looked down at his cast, then at the bandage on his opposite hand. "Another hand would be useful," he said, then gestured with his elbow. "Or for this thing to heal faster."

With a shake of his head, Dex said, "Gotta let it heal right, Nursey. Otherwise, you're not good to me-" He stopped and corrected himself, "To _us_ on the ice."

"Yeah, I know," Nursey responded. "Now I just gotta figure out how to get back up the top bunk."

Before Dex could think about it, he walked up to Nursey and helped him up, then aimed him for the stairs. "What the hell?" Nursey asked.

"Just shut up," Dex replied. And as they descended the stairs, he added, "And don't fuckin' fall, dude." Nursey was a klutz, but adding a broken leg to a broken arm would be too much.

"Oh, no way!" Nursey stopped at the landing, which caused Dex to walk into him.

"Dammit, Nurse!"

"You did all this in a day?" Nursey asked. "Damn..." He turned to Dex, a smile on his face. "This looks _chill as hell_."

Dex could feel the blush as it slowly crept up his neck and settled in his cheeks. He'd always had a problem taking compliments, but somehow Nursey complimenting him along with the complicated feelings he had about him, well, that just took a toll. "You got two beds in there or something?" he asked. "Damn, you've been busy."

"Just one," Dex said as he led Nursey around the drywall into his little room. "But if you can't get into bed right now, and Hops has the couch, you _really_ want to sleep on the floor?"

Nursey studied his face for a minute before he offered, "I could go share with C?"

They both shook their head simultaneously and said, "Farmer."

"It's not like we haven't shared before," Dex said. It was true; there had been far too many sold-out hotels that they'd stayed at for away games where guys had to double up and sometimes triple up. It was something that he hadn't really minded, but then again, that was mostly before whatever this thing in his head about Nursey had taken root.

Nursey was stuck at the door, his eyes glancing around Dex's small room. "You sure you want me in here?"

There was an apology on Dex's lips, though he clenched his jaws tight so it couldn't escape. "Look, you wanna go to bed or not?" he asked instead. And damn, but was his voice _always_ that hard? He didn't mean for it to be. As he always rationalized, _this was Nursey_.

"Yeah, okay," came Nurse's quiet reply as he finally entered the room. He looked at the bed, then to Dex, as if unsure about what happened next. So Dex climbed back onto the bed, taking the side closest to the wall, and then shimmied under the covers, holding the blanket up for Nursey. "Okay," Nursey repeated, then sat on the edge of the bed. And continued to sit there, looking around like he had no intention of laying down at all.

"Nurse," Dex said, then flicked the light switch he'd installed along the wall, killing all the lights. "Go to sleep."

After another, "Yeah, okay," Nursey finally laid down. Dex felt a tug at the blanket but didn't feel it move much, so he turned over. 

"Here," he said, then tugged the blanket up and over Nursey's chest. With a sigh, he leaned up and over Nursey, then pulled a second pillow from under the bed. "And here," he said, handing the pillow over. "Now to go to sleep." And with that, he turned onto his side, facing the wall as Nursey laid on his back.

The silence stretched between them, though Dex could tell Nursey wasn't asleep yet because of how he was breathing. Yet _another_ thing that he was used to after rooming with Nursey. "Dex?" Nursey's quiet voice pierced the silence, so he turned, looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah, Nursey?"

There was a sigh, followed with, "If I accidentally punch you with my cast in my sleep, _please_ wake me up before you punch me back. Okay?"

Dex couldn't help but smile. "No promises," he said, then reached back and whacked Nursey on the thigh with his hand.

Another long stretch of silence built between them as Dex yawned, getting comfortable.

"And Dex?"

"What, Nursey?" he sighed.

A few seconds of silence again hung between them until Nursey said, "Thank you."

"'welcome," Dex replied, happy that it was dark. Not because of anything more than he was glad Nursey couldn't see the blush creeping up his neck.

And as they both settled in, and Dex heard the telltale even breaths of Nursey finally asleep, he relaxed ever so slightly. And as he closed his eyes, he still saw Nursey every time. Except now, this Nursey smiled, green/gray eyes sparking back at him. And this Nursey, just as the real Nursey next to him did as he turned over and tugged at Dex with his cast, held Dex close. Close enough that Dex never wanted him to let go.


End file.
